You woke up an old discussion. Buy tickets at the train station using the ticket machines. Second, the ticket window agents will speak enough English. Third, write it on a slip of paper and hand it to the agent.

FYI - AmEx does not list an office in Florence.

Use the ticket machines or stop in any shop that has the Trenitalia logo. The prices on Trenitalia's website are supposedly discounted 5% so expect to pay 5% more.

The automatic ticketing machines in Italian stations IME are idiot-proof (i could easily use them!)- all in English and so quick - the opposite, ironically, of online tickets at the infamously fickle, frustrating and flummoxing trenitalia.com

>>>The automatic ticketing machines in Italian stations IME are idiot-proof (i could easily use them!)- all in English and so quick<<<

The touchscreen machines in English are not available in all stations. The older machines are more difficult to use.

thanks for that clarification - i played around with the easy to use machines in Rome Termini, Florence and Venice so in those stations the rafts of newer terminals make waiting in the oft long lines senseless IMO

but yes those old machines in smaller stations are just the opposite of being a snap to use.

The first minute and a half of this video shows you how to use the old ticket machines which are still found in lots of stations and the second minute shows how to use the new touchscreens.
http://www.webvisionitaly.com/catego...=&ref_item=375